Clinton rallies youth for Sestak

BRYN MAWR, Pa. — Former President Bill Clinton returned to Pennsylvania on Thursday to lend a hand to Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak's Senate campaign, rallying voters in the final days of what has become one of this fall's most competitive races.

The former president headlined rallies for Sestak at three Philadelphia-area colleges — Bryn Mawr College, Cheyney University in Cheyney, Pa., and Temple University in Philadelphia.

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The rallies' campus locations underscore Sestak's dependence on shoring up support in two crucial constituencies: young people and voters in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs.

Clinton tailored his appeal to his audience of mostly students at the Bryn Mawr rally, speaking about the benefits they will receive from the Democrats' financial aid initiatives and the health care reform legislation.

"This is ridiculous that we're going to have a drop-off in student participation when the biggest beneficiaries of the last two years have been young people," he said. "We have to vote to defend this advancement."

Speaking before Clinton about the stakes in this race, Sestak reprised an argument he made in last week's debates: His Republican opponent, former Rep. Pat Toomey, is too "extreme" for Pennsylvania.

He tied Toomey to Delaware GOP Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Toomey "is not a witch," Sestak quipped, "but his book [about the U.S. economy] is very scary."

Clinton, for his part, took a more retrospective approach in his criticism of Toomey, outlining the dangers of returning to the economic policies of the Bush years.

He called the Republicans' campaign strategy "bait and switch," saying they blame Democrats for the current economic crisis when Republicans are the ones who "left the country in a huge hole."

He acknowledged the voter frustration that has characterized this election but urged voters to give Democratic leaders more time to fix the nation's problems.

"People hire Democrats to fix things — if you think about it, we only get the majorities and get the White House when everything's messed up," he said. "And people don't feel fixed. It's really bad out there."

The rallies come at a crucial time for Sestak, who had a surge in the polls last week but now appears to be trailing Toomey slightly. A CNN/Time poll released Wednesday gave Toomey a 4-point lead over Sestak, and a Muhlenberg/Morning Call poll gave Toomey a 5-point lead.

Clinton and Sestak appeared at the rally with Manan Trivedi, the Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania's 6th District, and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel.

The former president also campaigned for Trivedi and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato on Thursday at a rally in Norristown, another Philadelphia suburb.

Clinton has been in high demand among Democratic candidates this election season. He told the crowd that he has done more than 115 campaign appearances so far.

"I didn't really mean to when I started," he said. "But once I got out here, I wanted to help everyone I could because I think the stakes in this election are high."

And it's not Clinton's first time campaigning with Sestak or Onorato this fall. He headlined a rally for Sestak in Scranton over the summer and made a trip to the Philadelphia area last month for both Sestak and Onorato. He has also stumped for other candidates in the state, including congressional candidates Paul Kanjorski and Kathy Dahlkemper.